5 Good Reasons to Visit #SouthAfrica Now!

If you haven’t set foot in South Africa yet, there could perhaps be no better time than now.

Among African nations South Africa ranks a close third among popular destinations after Morocco and Egypt. It ranks sixth out of 17 most megadiverse countries that have the maximum numbers of endemic species on earth.

Statistics apart, the main reason why you should visit South Africa is that it is awesomely enchanting, and highly rewarding in terms of both time and money you spend there.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing South Africa 3 times, the last being in December 2015, which has been a wonderful experience for me and my team members, prompting me to write my first travel e-book, Super Saver South Africa Travel Guide.

With that in perspective let me quickly turn to what I feel are the 5 reasons you should consider visiting South Africa this summer.

1. South Africa is cheap!

I’m sure this sounds music to your ears, but here is the caveat.

The prize of paying less for seeing more accrues only when you plan your trip yourself, instead of holding on to the coattails of the tour operators.

For, whether you agree or not, the tour operators will hardly want to pass on the cost advantage to you given the cyclical nature of their business. More on this later.

Visiting South Africa is cheap now because its currency ZAR has devalued against the other major currencies. And the fall in the value of ZAR is still continuing.

The 3 pictures below give you a good idea.

From April 2012 to January 2016, the amount of ZAR required to purchase 1 USD has more than doubled from rand 7.82 to 16.44.

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ZAR per 1 Euro has increased from rand 9.9 in 2012 to rand 17.5 in March 2016.

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Even for Indian rupee, ZAR has decreased 34% in value in 4 years from 2012 to 2016.

In other words, South Africa as a destination is cheaper now, no matter which direction you fly in for your trip there.

2. Shark cage diving

Ask anyone who has seen the great white sharks at a distance of just a foot as to how he/she felt those nail-biting moments. I’m confident the common answer will be full of superlatives.

I know this since I’ve been there, done that. The experience is simply electrifying!

Gansbaai (rather Kleinsbaai) – a 163-km drive from Cape Town – is the self-professed “Great White Shark Capital of the World”.